Salon.com > James Hibberd

Ray Bradbury is on fire!

Wed, 29 Aug 2001 19:00:00 +0000

Author Ray Bradbury, now 81 and recovering from a stroke, has recently become the most sought-after writer in Hollywood.

Renny Harlin ("Die Hard 2," "Cliffhanger") has signed to direct Bradbury's time-travel adventure "A Sound of Thunder." Frank Darabont ("The Shawshank Redemption," "The Green Mile") will direct new productions of "The Martian Chronicles" and "Fahrenheit 451." Bradbury is also adapting his short story collection "The Illustrated Man" for the Sci-Fi Channel and says he's writing a script based on his novella "Frost and Fire" that will be filmed next year. And the literary establishment has also recognized him recently. Last November the National Book Foundation gave its Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters to Bradbury.

The unprecedented interest by Hollywood in Bradbury's work is coincidentally timed to one of the author's major publishing anniversaries. Fifty years ago, the first printed version of "Fahrenheit 451" debuted in Galaxy Science Fiction magazine.

Hogwarts McNuggets?

Thu, 24 Aug 2000 19:00:00 +0000

FROM: Chris Columbus, Director
TO: Dan Fellman, President, Warner Bros. Pictures
RE: HPSS

Dan,

Can you believe it? I'm getting bashed all over the Internet and we haven't even started filming yet. I swear, if J.K. Rowling starts whining to the press, it could be worse than Anne Rice trashing "Interview" after Cruise was cast -- journalists love that "jilted writer vs. Hollywood" angle. If anybody asks, I guess I'll just have to use the usual mantra: "Film is a different medium, so changes needed to be made, but we're being true to the spirit of the book."

Anyway, here's the pre-production update:

Cast: Just got off the phone with Robin Williams and he's definitely on board, even for a supporting role. If I had my way, of course, he'd be Potter. (Williams could easily play a kid -- ever see "Jack"?) But noooo, Rowling insisted the lead go to an actual young Brit. (Hey, it's called acting.) So for Williams, here's what I'm thinking: Potter's professors at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry are supposedly stern and dull. But what if one professor is a zany, break-all-the-rules eccentric who mangles magic spells and does celebrity impressions?

Take my wife, please

Wed, 15 Mar 2000 17:00:00 +0000

Doing his best leading-man saunter, multimillionaire groom Rick Rockwell steps into the Improv spotlight to the strains of Marshall Tucker Band's "Can't You See."

He takes the microphone ... looks soulfully into the crowd ...

And begins to sing.

"Can't you seeee, can't you seeeee, what Darva's done to meeeee."

The hour of irony-free stand-up horror -- full of wacky accents, unabashed self-pity, Ross Perot impressions and, yes, Darva Conger jokes -- has begun.

Rockwell's return to the comedy circuit Friday at the Tempe Improv was sold out, drawing surprisingly enthusiastic fans from conservative Phoenix. The gig was Rockwell's first stop on his national "Annulment Tour," which includes dates in Miami, Chicago, San Diego and Washington.

Outside the Improv, an assortment of network television news crews got shots of female fans holding placards ("I'd Marry You Rick!" and "Will Cook for a Millionaire") and reporters tackled ticket holders: Do you think Rockwell will be funny?

"I don't know," one respondent, Shawna, told an ABC affiliate. "I've heard he was a pretty bad comic."

The reporter jumped: "Then why are you here?"

"I guess I think it will be ..." She paused, struggling to think of the right word. "Entertaining."

Barhopping with the Bud Girls

Tue, 02 Feb 1999 15:30:00 +0000

If you owned a beer company, what would be your ultimate marketing dream?

How about placing a beer commercial in every college bar and fraternity
organization? There, luscious, tan line-free women and confident,
upper-social-strata jocks would aggressively promote your brands with all
the slick enthusiasm of a Madison Avenue production. Imagine these
commercials playing in continuous motion throughout the evening without
ever resorting to the obvious loops of promotional films. Because this
commercial would be live. That's right, real people targeting real college
beer drinkers at that crucial moment in their lives when they establish
brand loyalty, using no other sales technique than old-fashioned peer
pressure.

For Anheuser-Busch, the parent company of Budweiser, the dream of
student recruitment is real. It wasn't easy or cheap. Or, some
argue, anywhere close to ethical. Parenting groups have recently
attacked Anheuser-Busch for their animated frog 'n' lizard advertising
campaign, but a Salon investigation has found that the brewer does more
than create cute cartoon characters to court underage drinkers. By hiring
popular fraternity members and attractive female students as
representatives, Anheuser-Busch distributors directly target the
largely underage college market.